To all of our families from 2010, thank you very much for choosing us in 2010. It was such a pleasure to see so many smiling, happy families!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve opened all of our 2010 galleries for a limited time to purchase last minute holiday gifts. Professional lab prints, digital files, and our proof books are still available for holiday delivery if purchased on or before 11:59 pm on Tuesday, December 14th.  Please see below for all of the details.

As a quick reminder our galleries expire exactly 30 days from the date your gallery goes online. If you have an expired gallery and need more time than our 12/14 deadline please set up a call or in-person meeting with Katie. We will waive the fee to re-open your gallery. Anyone who contacts us for an extension will have the entire month of January to complete their order. After that time all 2010 galleries will be archived and no longer available. Thank you for understanding.

Again, thank you for working with us in 2010. It was our busiest year to date. We’ve experienced some growing pains but we were thankful to have them. In early 2011 we’re planning on improving many of our processes as well as adding some exciting new features and a few more photographers across the country. Please stay tuned!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HOLIDAYS TO YOU!

xo,

Sarah and the rest of the MKP team

I promise to post a few recent shoots. It gets crazy this time of year so I want to make sure I’m still sharing a bit with you! Last year I forgot to blog so many great shoots and I’m trying to remedy that this year. I’ll have to sleep a little less in the next month!

Finally, here’s a good mornin’ photo from my niece Elsa all the way in Philadelphia. She has this adorable habit of dropping the ‘ing off of many common words. There’s nothing cuter than a 3.5 year old saying Good Mornin!!

p.s. I totally condone cell phone photos of your kids (just as long as you use a real camera or hire someone like me from time to time)!

Last year I had so much fun customizing holiday cards for my clients. Together, we sent out nearly two thousand cards, wow! This year there are a ton of options to do holiday cards through Modern Kids. If you still don’t see something you like we also work with two fabulous stationary companies, Minted and Mango Ink.

First, a few things about our holiday cards this year.

• We have 11 new designs this year (see them below)!

• Each design is fully customizable including text, colors, and even fonts

• Two card sizes: 4×5.5 + 5×7

• We have a super-fast turnaround! Typically less than 5 business days from the date of your order

• Complimentary mock-ups. I’m happy to mock-up some options for you and give you advice on the best imagery for your card.

Enjoy the 2009 Designs and again if you still don’t see something you like please visit Minted and Mango Ink! If you’re in San Francisco, feel free to stop by the studio to take a look at our holiday cards. If you’re in Chicago or St. Louis, I’ll be bringing a few of my designs with me.

Finally, the images used above are lovely but they are not imagery from modern kids (except for a few cards in our intro image).

Long story short, one of us (the jury is still out on who’s idea it was) thought of wooded postcards. It was a farm wedding, after all. And so, the process of finding a company that did them began. We stumbled upon a small company in Michigan called Cards of Wood, who did an awesome job.

Fast forward a couple of years and many of you reading this have seen wooden postcards or gift tags in stationary boutiques and gift shops. They seem to be everywhere. I feel like I can safely say we were on the front-end of that trend (the only time in history). I still really like the idea despite seeing them all over the place. So when I needed to update my business cards I opted for the wooden variety. I did get some letterpress quotes as well but figured I’d do something a little more unique (despite absolutely loving letterpress).

I designed them easily on my own and it was fun to see the final product. The only downfall is you still have to be careful of the splinters, seriously. Oh and they probably also make great kindling in a pinch.

Love them? Hate them? Find them totally impractical for a photographer? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Eric worked with me to create a little kid illustration to use on various marketing materials. Check him out on the back of the postcard below. This little kid is the brand-new Modern Kids Photography mascot. He’s pretty cute but he needs a name so if anyone has any ideas, please comment below.

Eric then worked on a lovely little postcard that I can send to clients after shoots and slip into print orders. If you’ve had a shoot with me recently keep your eyes peeled for the card! Thanks so much to Eric for his awesome vision and for helping to spruce up the Modern Kids brand. Let me know your thoughts!

I figured I would include a few more studio photos as well. I’m still not finished with the place quite yet. I need some more shelves and some fun kids stuff (joe, the husband said he’d help me with a teepee). I’ll post more photos when it’s finished. In the meantime, whether you’re one of my clients, another photog or anyone else who might be interested in saying hello, my door is always open (well not technically)! Email or call to set up a time to say hello: hello[at]modernkidsphoto[dot]com or 415 846 0533.

Images below feature lots of our studio products including canvases, framed prints, and my new favorite product, preview boxes! Anyone recognize the kids?!

Check back soon for more studio shots, a few more recent sessions, and the official Modern Kids Photography Fall Party Details! Yay!